Coffee, Cars & Kurosaki
by Panthiera
Summary: Flirtatious Ichigo! Loudmouth Rukia! Intellectual Renji! Independent-woman Inoue! What on Earth? AU. Friendship and four very different lifestyles. IchiHime. Renjia.
1. Paint Rollers before Science

**Disclaimer**: Bleach is not be mine, folks!

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**Coffee, Cars and Kurosaki**

Chapter 1

--

She'd been thinking about it, she could really do with a job.

"I've been thinking about it for a couple of days now, I could really do with a job." Inoue spoke into the receiver of her Skype microphone, at the same time adding a couple of words to her History assignment in the adjacent window. "I was thinking maybe 'Zoo' down the main road, they have some nice clothes and I could get a discount!"

Rukia made a face, and the green-ish quality of the webcam added to the effect. "Zoo's where all the mums go shopping for their prepubescent, twelve year old daughters. Why would you wanna work there?"

"I can use my discount to get you clothes?"

Inoue laughed as Rukia gestured a punch on the computer monitor. She looked like a little angry rabbit. But all things aside, she really needed a job. She had been thinking for more than a couple of days like she'd said, she'd been thinking about it ever since her brother, Sako, had been hospitalised.

Sure, she was still at school, but that never stopped any of the other kids who juggled them both at once. People like Rukia would never understand her need to provide necessities for her family, because Rukia was from one of the richest families in Japan, and had people to drive her to school and call her down for dinner. Here, the only person Inoue could depend on was herself and her brother. And since Sako's illness had started to kick in, it was just her.

Eyeing up the numerous boxes on the floor, Inoue decided that it was best to switch off the computer and finish her conversation and homework later.

"See you on Monday, Ruki-chan!"

"Don't call me that, it's disgusting." came a retort on the loudspeaker. "But love you too."

It had been over a month since the move, and it really couldn't have come at a better time. In between unpacking, cleaning and cooking, Inoue had barely any energy left to study. Most days she came home from school she felt like collapsing on her bed, knowing that five minutes later she'd have to recommence the organisation of their little apartment. And when she wasn't doing that, she'd be visiting Sako in hospital nearby.

The place where they previously lived had been targeted for demolition. The old landlord wanted to build a new, twenty-storey apartment block where their three-storey one stood, to "pave the way for modern times and a higher market" he'd said. That definitely destroyed any chances of their living in it; they could barely afford hot water as it was.

Anyway, Inoue thought, there's no point in looking back, especially as there was so much to do right now! She needed to head down to the shops for some milk and sugar, and return the paint roller she'd borrowed from Renji.

--

School came as usual on Monday, and Inoue had the tedious task of lugging a paint roller to school. The last three times she'd called for Renji he hadn't been home, and therefore was forced to take drastic measures.

There he was, leaning against a shiny red convertible, seemingly nonchalant. It was another one to his collection, no doubt. How a seventeen year old could own so many automobiles was beyond Inoue's grasp. His family must be _so_ rich, she thought. Sometimes she wished she had a car, but then proceeded to wonder what she'd do with it. It wasn't like she needed to go anyplace far, and even if she did, the trains worked fine.

"Renji! Where have you been? I've knocked for you three times this week."

With that, the redhead diverted his attention to his orange-haired friend. "Hey Inoue, I've been busy. Those my paint rollers?"

She handed him the items in observation, glad that they were no longer in her awkward possession. Images of dropping the rollers on her head sprang to mind, resulting in the painting of her face bright blue.

"Are you coming to class, Renji?"

"Yeah, sure." he said, and for a while they walked quietly up the steps of the courtyard, after which Renji broke the silence. "You getting anywhere with the History?"

"No... I've been busy myself." she shot him a sideways glance, to which Renji's face dropped.

"Oh, Sako. How is he?"

"'His internal environment is good', the doctor said, but she didn't tell me any more than that. I'm visiting him tomorrow. Will you be coming this time too?"

"Ah, not tomorrow, I have something I need to do. Sorry, Inoue." Renji said, to which Inoue smiled politely. She pushed back a strand of hair from her face and furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to work out how much money she'd have left after lunch and bus fare. She'd forgotten both at home today, so she would have to buy it. "Inoue, you there?"

She jumped at the sight of Renji waving his massive hand in her face. "Oops, sorry I kind of zoned out."

"That's alright. I asked you if you were still looking for a job." Renji laughed heartily, the sun gleaming in his hazel eyes, and upon the lines his mouth made. Inoue's face lit up at his smile, which she had always thought was much better than his scowl. Funnily enough, the scowl was all most people ever got. Did he say a job? Intriguing. What sort of job would Renji know about? With his background it could even be high paying, Inoue calculated, and suddenly became excited at the prospect. "Yes I am! Why, do you know something?"

"Yeah, it's not much, but I hear old man Shunsui's looking for help at the garage."

"Old man Shunsui?" Inoue asked, "Who is he?"

"Oh, I totally forgot, you have no idea. Well, you see, he's the owner of Blossom Garage- quite popular actually- and his clerk, or should I say monkey boy, has moved away to France, so he's employing."

Inoue thought about the idea. Her, in a garage? Was Renji deluded? What in the world could she ever achieve in one of those places?

"Renji, what in the world could I ever achieve in one of those places?" she asked, voicing her thoughts. "I don't know anything about cars, my biceps are about the size of M&Ms, I get really flustered under pressure, and there's no need to mention that there'll be about a million guys in the place, right?"

Damn, she was right, Renji thought. Putting Inoue in a place full of guys could only end in catastrophe. The job wasn't even that bad though. He knew Inoue was a fast learner and that she was actually quite tough underneath the girly exterior. Ah, never mind then, she seemed pretty flustered that he even asked.

"But I'll do it."

WHAT?

"What?" Renji almost tripped over himself trying to make eye contact with Inoue, to check if she had gone mad somehow. "But you just said-"

"I know, but I figured none of that matters. I _need _a job so badly. And plus, I trust you not to advertise to me false choices, am I right Renji? Where is this Blossom Garage then?"

He couldn't help but smile at his friend's determination. Renji always knew Inoue was a tough girl. A tough girl, who was a little weird too.

--

"Right! Everybody to your seats please! I don't wait for this class, this class waits for me!"

At the head of the class stood Matsumoto Rangiku. As well as being their Biology teacher she was the Head of the Science department at their school. Never had a Science teacher been so popular with the students at Karakura High, whether it was because of spirit or looks.

"Right," she exclaimed after she finished registering the class, "We're on a new subject today, and what a better way to start than with a big fat assignment?"

The class groaned. When Matsumoto-sensei said assignment, she absolutely meant it. You had to achieve 95 or above for her to not throw daggers at you in the hallways.

"In a minute half the class'll pick their partner's names out of a hat, which I'm sure will be fun. You might even get someone you like." Several people in the class giggled, mainly the girls and boys from the large social circle. Matsumoto rolled her eyes and continued. "But before that happens I'd like to introduce you to a new student, Kurosaki Ichigo. Please come in, Kurosaki" she gestured to the door, through which a young man entered. Since her back was to the door, Inoue had to turn her head to look.

"Check him out." she heard a low voice. It had obviously been Rukia opposite her who'd said that underneath her breath. She looked at the newcomer, and was startled by, first things first, his hair colour.

"Hey, Inoue! It's your brother!"

The class burst out laughing and Inoue blushed. While doing so, she made eye contact with the young man, which made her turn away quickly and blush even more intensely. In doing this, she missed his sheepish grin.

"Enough, Kiego. Do that again and I'll make you work through this two-man project on your own. Apologise to Inoue and Kurosaki at once."

"Sorry" came a half-assed reply.

When the commotion died down a little, it was time to pick lab partners.

"Rukia? Kuchiki Rukia?"

An audible 'What?' was heard from the part of Rukia before she was told to hurry up and move seats. Finally, it came to the last person's turn, but there was one slight problem: there were two names left yet only one person choosing. Tatsuki picked up one of them and opened up the folded piece of paper which would determine who her lab partner was. 'I hope it's me', thought Inoue, seeing as she was rather fond of her raven-haired friend.

"I'm with Chad." she announced, and with that, they swiftly exited as if on cue, leaving only two people, who happened to be Orihime Inoue and Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Right, you two, I'd love to watch you stand and stare at each other all day but I've got a class to supervise. There're two seats over there by the window. Watch out for the draught, but whatever you do, don't close it; I won't ever get it open again. I thank my lucky stars for that Professor Ichimaru. Scrawny men never possessed so much strength. Why I remember..."

Inoue started fiddling with the gas tubes when she ran out of things to say to the person next to her, and so far that consisted of 'Hi, I'm Orihime Inoue, but you can call me Inoue.' and 'Do you like fire?' The latter had been an attempt to make conversation relevant to the task at hand, which involved handling a Bunsen burner. However, it hadn't come out the way she expected. Actually, it _had_, but Inoue's perception of normal and other people's perceptions of 'normal' weren't exactly identical. Nevertheless, Ichigo wasn't a difficult person to talk to. He just stuck to himself when Inoue wasn't talking to him.

"Hey!" Ichigo briskly grabbed Inoue's arm, pushing her away from the flame that was coming threateningly close to her jumper, knocking over a pencil stand in the process.

"Ow! My hair!" Inoue gasped timidly as his grip locked in a small patch of her long, auburn hair. Ichigo let go of her slowly and she turned to look at him.

"Please be more careful, Inoue-san" he ordered, to which Inoue raised her eyebrows and showed a hint of a smile.

"Sorry, I'm very clumsy." she beamed. "No need to worry about me! I'm always doing something stupid." She subconsciously grazed the spot where his hand had held her.

"You'll end up in trouble if you carry on like that."

Inoue laughed, thinking how right he actually was. "My older brother says that to me all the time."

"Is that so? I have two little sisters, they're a lot like you, and I'm always having to take responsibility, being the eldest." He paused, "I must have seemed a lot like your big brother just then, huh?" he added, and then smiled wryly. "I haven't really introduced myself, I'm Ichigo. Nice to meet you, Inoue."

He held out a hand, initiating a handshake, and Inoue was just about to move hers towards him when she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Rukia punching Renji in the head.

"Baka! I told you, it's 200ml of Thiosulphate, not distilled water! Ever wondered why our mixture was purple instead of green like everyone else's?" Inoue came to her friend's side in an attempt to prevent any more violence. Boy was Rukia mad; madder than Inoue had seen when Mizuiro knocked her favourite juice out of her hand with a football.

"Shut up! Look at me, does it look like I care about anyone else's _anything_? You're gonna _pay_ for hitting me" came the retort from Renji. Ichigo had ran over to him forcefully, positioning himself in between Rukia and Renji and holding back Renji's arm, preventing him from pouring said purple mixture onto Rukia's head. Renji was equally if not more mad. The top button on his shirt had popped open from all the madness. From an outsider's point of view, you could have thought that Ichigo and Renji were having a fight. It would be unfortunate for them in the long run.

For a brief moment, in typical Inoue style, when everything around her was in chaos, she noticed that the two of them were appetisingly strong and muscular. Posed as though sparring (despite the fact that it was Rukia and Renji the real fight was between), their stature and build were accentuated through their school uniforms.

"What's going on here?" came a calm voice from outside their little group. It was Matsumoto-sensei, wary and ever ready to settle disturbances in her class. If it was one thing she hated the most, it was a disorderly class. It seemed contradictory to her wild nature. "Looks like someone can't get along. You too, Kurosaki?" she stated, obviously having already established the situation from her point of view. "What am I to do? Oh, that's right. Kuchiki, Abarai, Kurosaki: detention. Half an hour, after class. That'll be all. Oh, and pick up those pencils."

--

"Since you two both have common ground in being friends with me, we might as well be civil to one another, right?"

It was seriously going nowhere. And fast. "Why are you guys so stubborn? You're so different when it's just me that's around!"

It was no news that Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia hated one another. It had been that way from the first day of middle school, and it was going to stay that way for, well, forever. There was something fundamentally missing from their abilities to be rational and polite around one another, or at least even to pretend the other wasn't there. They were like two bulls in a china shop, or like grass and a weed, one always trying to be superior to the other. The problem was an obvious one, yet had no easy solution. Keeping them apart was only a temporary break from the fateful day that they'd bump into one another again, and that day, without a doubt, was going to happen no matter what.

Today could have well been that day, Inoue thought as she recollected the near miss of the glass beaker upon Rukia's head. It had landed on Kiego's instead, which was extremely funny, and potentially dangerous had Renji _really_ used Thiosulphate instead of distilled water.

Inoue was just about to leave the Detention Airing Cupboard (it was so small the younger kids had come up with the nickname) with Renji and Rukia, who were walking ahead of her in pure and heavy silence, when she noticed a mass of orange hair in the corner of the dimly-lit room, also getting up to leave.

"Kurosaki-kun?" she called out. Indeed, he lifted his head up so his brown eyes met her cerulean blues. "Hey, are you coming?"

Unsure of what to say, Ichigo scratched his head for a few moments before gathering the rest of the books he'd been reading in detention and made his way towards her. "Sure." he smiled. His gaze lingered on Inoue for a few seconds before he broke it with conversation. "So am I missing something?" he gestured towards the two others nearby.

Oh boy, this was going to be a _long_ story, Inoue thought.

"You can tell it to me on the way home," Ichigo beamed, as if he'd read her thoughts. "I've got time."

--

**End of Chapter 1**

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Author's Note: Did you guys like that? I've got grand plans for this story, so stay tuned! Oh, and remember to review! Nothing beats good ol' feedback from the readers... unless you're here to give me Pocky sticks xD


	2. Everybody Loves History

**Author's Note:** Hello my dears, thought I'd get this chapter out a little earlier than intended. I was thinking of keeping to weekly updates but I'm too excited! This chapter's better than the last in terms of movement and plot, methinks, and I hope y'all enjoy it. I'd appreciate feedback on the story, such as what you want more of and how my writing can be improved.

I'd also like to quickly announce some things. Firstly: I don't actually remember what Inoue's brother's name in the manga is, so I've decided on 'Sako'. Secondly: a big Thank You to those who added me to the C2 thingies, I'm not too familiar with the whole community thing, but I take it as a huge compliment to be added to one.

Enjoy the show, folks.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo, that genius, does.

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**Coffee, Cars, and Kurosaki**

Chapter 2

* * *

"And whenever July came round, we'd all go there again." he said.

It was the first time in a month since Inoue let her worries fly away so freely. She sank into a relaxed state as she watched Ichigo talk fervently about the summer season; about the hut that he and his family would go to every year. It was because she'd rarely any time to herself these days, what with the moving house and her brother's sickness, but at the moment she felt a sense of ease wash over her. If only somehow she could take him home and have him talk to her all the time! Listening to Ichigo's story about his childhood brought back memories of when she was a little girl, when every day then her father would buy her and Sako two scoops of ice cream each with a chocolate flake, vanilla for him and strawberry for her.

"Y'see, it's hidden in the woods, so we get total peace and quiet. When my dad's not ruining it for the rest of us, anyway." he exclaimed. "He's a total nutjob."

She laughed at the comment. "Why is he a nutjob? How do I know that he's one who's a nutjob and not you, Ichigo-kun?" Like they say, like father, like son, right? Inoue smiled up sideways at him, wrinkling her nose.

Ichigo pushed her playfully, feigning a convincing expression of outrage, but shortly after smiling. "Because I am almighty Zeus, King of Gods." he boomed triumphantly, but it wasn't long before their banter was cut short by Inoue coming to a stop.

"What?" the orange-haired boy asked, fearing that he'd said something to offend her. Frankly, the conversation was going quite well until then, and Ichigo saw much potential for it to bloom into flirtation, he was enjoying it profusely, and it was definitely a direction which he wanted to go down. It was refreshing to be involved in a conversation where the other person wasn't dumb or an inanimate object (He talked to plants sometimes). Plus, he couldn't quite remember the last time he'd _ever_ talked about the hut in the woods with anyone- that beloved hut- and before he'd known it, there he was telling the cute girl beside him about his childhood traditions.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's just that this is my turning." Inoue said with a hint of defeat in her voice. It was noticeable even to an ant that she didn't want to leave just yet, but alas, sometimes we all had to do things we didn't want to, like vacuuming, she sidetracked to herself.

"Ah, well..." the young man started, placing his right hand upon the crown of his head before continuing, meaning to scratch it. Inoue smiled subtly at the action, she'd seen him do it earlier in the Detention Room too. It must have been an automatic response action, but whatever the case, it was endearing, especially how it was accompanied now by Ichigo pursing his big peachy lips. An image came to mind, and it was hilarious, causing Inoue to burst out laughing so unexpectedly that she might have been possessed by a Hollow. Gradually, her laughter become frenzied.

"What now?" Ichigo exclaimed, shocked at the sudden imposition. When Inoue didn't reply due to her doubled over with laughter he just shrugged, feeling a slight tinge of fear that his hair had turned bright purple. It was unexplainable how whenever people were laughing at him, Ichigo always imagined it was because his hair had turned purple. Something traumatically purple must have happened when he was younger to have caused the phobia.

"Ichigo-kun, can you make that face again?" Inoue asked in between bouts of giggles as she leaned on his shoulder. "If I didn't know better I'd have said you were a human version of Chappy the rabbit!"

"Inoue!" Ichigo scowled. How dare she! Ichigo wanted to kill that thing whenever he saw it, which was _very_ often in downtown Japan, usually in the hands of those dumb girls he sometimes had the pleasure of talking to, so imagine his outrage at being compared to it! The young girl's laughter had ceased considerably now, but her face was so red that it was now his turn to laugh. "You'll pay for that." he growled. Of course, he'd have to think of a good comeback in due time, and who knew when that was going to happen.

"Sorry, Ichigo." she smiled, shaking her head and leaning on him a little closer.

"And to think, I was beginning to like you." he joked, rolling his eyes.

"What?" Inoue froze and backed off, a look of panic and heartbreak in her eyes, at which Ichigo immediately stabbed himself and bumbled over his words to explain what he'd just said he didn't mean.

The fiery-haired girl refused to look at him and cast her eyes to the ground. "It's okay, Ichigo." she sighed. "I guess I'll never really have any friends..."

Wait, Ichigo thought, weren't Renji and that black-haired girl her friends? They'd only left them about five minutes ago, or had he imagined it? Ichigo hooked Inoue into his body with his left arm in an attempt to persuade her that they in fact were the best friends that could have ever been, but he soon realised that the girl was grinning. "Got ya!" Inoue squealed. Ichigo frowned and started tickling her sides, making it impossible for her to resist by locking her arms in with his.

"Hahaha! No, stop! You don't understand! It's unbearable, Ichigo!"

"What's that? You're screaming, I can't hear you. You wanted more tickle? Okay." he said, and ruffled her under the arms and sides even harder. "But since I'm getting a little tired, this can't go on."

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I will not let this go lightly!" Inoue wailed half in surrender, the other half being somewhere between excitement and vengeance, as he slowly let her go, his hand brushing her hair. The two of them looked at each other in a moment of silence before time recommenced and they smiled awkwardly. "Anyway, I was going," Inoue said, reluctantly breaking the moment. "I've really got to take care of things at home."

"Sure. See you tomorrow?" Ichigo said, feeling slightly light-headed, and handing her bag over, which he'd been carrying. She must have had about a gazillion books in there, yet it was deceptively small. "And hey," he added, causing Inoue to turn her head round, "I know a great soba place nearby; you want to go there with me someday for lunch?"

Inoue blinked starkly a few times, not sure how to take the comment, but her voice rushed ahead of her and said a very clear "Yes" before she could stop it.

"Great. Take care, Inoue. Beware of the tickle monster when you sleep." he chuckled.

"I will," she shouted back to him, "anything to see your Chappy face again, Chappy-chan!"

Tripping slightly in his step Ichigo decided that it was best not to turn around, for he was afraid his ego might have induced another tickling attack on his new friend.

* * *

"I can't stand him. I nearly killed him today after he made that stupid Chappy remark. The guy makes my blood boil, and the thing is I don't even know why."

"Rukia, breathe."

"And if that wasn't bad enough, I'm partnered with him in Biology. Why am I punished like this? Who's punishing me? Because when I find them I'm going to kick them all the way to Soul Society."

"Isn't Soul Society--"

"Yes, yes it is. And exactly."

"Oh." Inoue feebly hummed, thinking that she shouldn't really say anything more on the subject. Getting Rukia to calm down was like saying "Please don't erupt" to Mount Etna, the volcano in Italy in the middle of boiling July. In other words- impossible.

"So tell me about this Ichigo! He seems _nice_, loved the way he was staring at you like you were the Queen of Sheba today in Bio."

Inoue rolled her eyes. "Rukia!" she gasped, a little flushed. "But was he really?" _I was too busy observing the sexual tension between you and Renji_. "Anyway, Ichigo-kun and I talked all the way home. You know he looks like Chappy when he pouts?" Audible laughter and a murmur of admiration were heard through Inoue's headphones. "I thought you'd like that." she smiled.

"Let's hope he's nothing like your last boyfriend, Tsuzuka." Rukia added after she stopped laughing. "He was a jerk and a half."

As soon as she said this Inoue's instant messenger program buzzed and on the screen were the words 'Ichigami would like to add you to his/her friends list'.

"I think he just added me." Inoue announced, excited at the new online presence. She clicked on the 'Accept' button and was a few minutes later greeted by the words 'hi Inoue, its me, tickl monster'. Beaming to herself, she typed in a response.

**Lotus Girl says:** hey ichigo. what's up?

**Ichigami says:** not much apart from my history assignment. I needed some help and renji said I shud ask u. he gave me your email address.

**Lotus Girl says:** what a feeble excuse to talk to me, ichigo :) what is it?

"I'm talking to him about the History." Inoue informed her friend, who was jumping up and down on her seat from her webcam window in the computer screen, acting out kisses and dramatic fainting scenes, like those ones in ridiculous anime shows.

**Ichigami says:** not sure if I can write abt authors. was the topic strictly 'historical leadrs'?

**Lotus Girl says:** no, it's fine. i asked kurotsuchi-sensei the same thing. i'm writing bout tht british street artist, banksy. you?

**Ichigami says:** Ive heard of that guy actualy, didnt kno u wer into the whole strt art movement. I was thinkin of doin franz kafka. not literally if u kno wat I mean :P ok thnks Inoue, Ive got to go. see u soon mrs. clever pants.

**Lotus Girl says:** ok ichigo, bye xx

**Ichigami says:** thnks for the kisses, my lips are tingling. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Before Inoue had the chance to even think about replying with some sort of clever, elusive retort, Ichigo had logged off. She recalled how close they had been earlier in the day, laughing and touching, leaving her with a tingling feeling all of her own, until she realised that the tingling extended to her stomach, and had become much more of a rumble. Damn it, she realised, it was already dinner time? Somewhere in her flat, an uneaten lunch was sitting from earlier that day when she'd forgotten to bring it to school. It looked like she was having omelette and onigiri for dinner- again.

* * *

It was half past nine at night and Renji was rapidly becoming drained of energy. Dinner had gone amiss due to the pile-up of clients from the evening. The only break he'd received was a five minute one at six, in which Kurosaki had called him about the History assignment, something which was at the utmost bottom of his list of important things right now.

He sloppily unzipped his blue overall, sighed, and then meandered out of the top half, leaving his tattooed chest bare for the entire world to see. Well, 'world' actually referred to no-one, because no one else was in the workshop this late. Damn that Shunsui for making me do overtime for the third time this week, he thought. Sure, he'd informed Inoue of the job vacancy at the place for her own benefit- because he knew she was job hunting. However, part of the reason why he'd specifically mentioned Blossom Garage was because the accumulation of jobs ultimately ended up on _him_, and it was by no means a desirable position to be in at that place. Being an assistant to Shunsui at the same time as being a fully fledged mechanic was like cooking and rewiring an electric plug simultaneously, whilst balancing a pot of hot water on your head. And in high heels.

Renji was bending down to pick up his work bag when he heard the entrance of the garage door open. It was behind a wall from where he was standing, so he took the liberty of shouting that the place was closed.

"What? Already?" a female voice cried out.

"I said we're closed!" he repeated, "And it's late, lady!" Renji neared the divide and peeked over the wall at whoever was standing there. "You'd better leave, I'm closing up..."

He took a long glance at the woman before him, attired from head to toe in black. Renji noticed that there was something awfully strange about her, that she wasn't any normal citizen, and it was even stranger than she was _here_.

"Like I said, you'd better leave, we're closing up." he said once more.

The lady looked at him from above the top of her thick-framed spectacles. "I'm looking for the owner of this place." she said, "I have some important business with him. My name is Ise Nanao; I'm an old friend of his."

"Sorry, he's not here. He's left for today. You can try his mobile phone."

The woman paused slightly, focusing her stare on a patch on the wall before averting her eyes to Renji. "Okay, thanks for your help." she exclaimed, noticeably defeated. "I'll try again tomorrow. But if you see him, could you tell him I was here? This is my cell number, it's urgent, you see."

Renji took the small piece of paper from the woman and put it in the pocket of his overalls. "I'll do that." he said. 'Find out what happens in tomorrow's episode of _Renji's World_', he mused to himself as Ise Nanao left. Seriously, his life was like something out of _The Truman Show_ when Truman didn't know he was being filmed- strange harbouring on detrimental. Suddenly he was reminded of the fact that he was alone in an empty garage on a Monday night when his stomach growled, hungry as someone who gave up food for Lent. Sometimes Renji wondered why he wasn't born rich.

* * *

It was a busy night at _Itsu Soba_ that Monday, one of the busiest that had ever been. Matsumoto Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin sat in a corner sipping warm sake and laughing under their breaths, occasionally leaning in to whisper to one another, and then falling about in laughter once again. Fortunately for them and what they represented, which was the highly-reputable faculty demographic at Karakura High, Kuchiki Rukia totally missed their presence as she wandered into the restaurant by herself.

She'd previously become restless and no longer felt like doing what was probably on everyone else's mind- the stupid History assignment. Sitting alone in her room was driving her crazy. Seriously, how hard could it be to learn about a bunch of dead guys? Rukia had never thought the answer to that question could have been 'Very' with a capital 'V', yet there she'd been, ready to smash her face against the wall out of frustration over not being able to identify Henry VIII's third wife's brother's cousin's dog's name.

A slight exaggeration, but viable nonetheless, especially if you understood the complex logistics of high school History with Kurotsuchi Mayuri-sensei. Rukia could have sworn the guy was a lunatic fresh out of a mental institution.

Anyway, as she decided against drowning herself in the toilet, _Itsu Soba_ sprang to mind. It was her meditation spot, somewhere she'd always gone to get away from it all. The entrance was concealed from the world behind a thick mass of willow leaves, and it was true that the path there was lined with stinging nettles, but it was well worth it once that path ended. Stinging nettle had no chance. Adorned with its own terrace overlooking a lake, it was the perfect place to relax alone as well as with company. There was one thing that Rukia could never become when she was at _Itsu Soba_, and that was angry.

However, she was soon to be tested on that claim, as a familiar face walked in through the door five minutes after her own entrance. The man barely seemed to fit in with the rest of the crowd there. He was wearing a pair of baggy jeans with a white vest and jean jacket, and there seemed to be oil smeared across his cheek. If no one had known better, they would have thought he was from the kitchen out back or something. Luckily, several people recognised him as Abarai Renji from Karakura High, where he was quite a popular face. Why he was dressed like that though, they'll never know.

"Oh hey there Toru-san." Rukia greeted as the head waiter approached her.

"Good evening, Kuchiki Rukia-san."

"Oh, come on, Toru, I've told you many times, please just call me Rukia. Don't make me get my nana on you now. We're all well aware that she packs quite the punch."

The old man chuckled, shaking his head. "Such a funny girl, Kuchiki Rukia-san. I have come over to intrude ever so humbly."

Rukia smiled at the man, knowing that nothing he could ever impose on her would be too much. "What is it? Did you guys run out of soba? I mean, I jumped into the lake ten years ago after you told me the same thing, I can't make any promises that it won't happen again, Toru."

Toru laughed heartily. "No, we have plenty in stock. What I've come to ask is: would you mind sharing your table with the young man who's just arrived? We're awfully crowded and there're no tables free, and--"

"Don't be silly, it's fine." Rukia answered before the man could finish his sentence. As far as Rukia was concerned, he hadn't even needed to come over. From all perspectives, she couldn't have possibly imagined any harm from sharing a table with absolutely anyone at that current moment in time, or any other actually. Food was food; we all had to eat, right? And she wasn't exactly the snooty type when it came to dining either. Rukia wasn't one of those people who reprimanded you in a restaurant if your child was making too much noise. Nor was she one of those people who liked to work the life and soul out of the waiters and waitresses without or before giving a tip. When the indolence was on their behalf, then sure, but she always rewarded honesty. It was a trait of her personality that she got to show very rarely- another reason why she loved _Itsu Soba_ so much- because it allowed her to be herself.

No one could have taken that away from her, she thought to herself, gazing at the reflection of the fireflies on the water outside- not History assignments, not Death Gods, not even Abarai Renji.

"Rukia, is that you?" came a deep voice from behind her, and she immediately recognised it. It was like she'd summoned him by thinking his name or something, _for goodness' sakes_.

* * *

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. Saturday, an Ode to Thee

**Author's Note:** Bonjour! Comment-ca va? I don't know about this chapter- but hopefully posting it will pull me out of this break I'm taking and write more! It's been sitting here for a while now xD

Thank you SO much for all your reviews, they made me so happy! I love getting feedback on my work, whether it's literature or art, and well, it inspires and motivates me to write more, so keep it up guys, and I promise I will reciprocate!

Enjoy this chapter! It'll move the plot along a little, but more importantly, more mush and everyday life on the part of our mischievous friends.

Ja ne

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**Disclaimer**: Bleach; I don't owns it.

--

**Coffee, Cars, and Kurosaki**

Chapter 3

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Ichigo walked through the same halls that he had done countless times before, every time the same thoughts running through his head. Their inane colour seemed to physically drain him of happiness, and the pulsating smell of antiseptic unnerving his very stability. A sudden feeling of faintness drew over him, as it always did. You'd think he'd be used to it by now, but becoming accustomed to the hospital was neither a beneficial nor desirable thing.

"Kurosaki-san, hello." said the matron upon his arrival. The routine was as usual; check in and sanitise before entering hospital rooms, and no doubt he'd have to sanitise and check out afterwards.

"Tetsuya- any change?" the orange-haired boy asked, to which the nurse shook her head softly.

"Kurosaki-san, I shouldn't talk to you about it here, but I'll say that no change is better than undesirable change, especially in these circumstances."

Ichigo frowned. "Yeah." he sighed, "I'll make my own way down then."

"Oh, Kurosaki-san, Nobu-san has been transferred. His room is no longer where you think. I'll have to take you myself."

He followed her down the corridor and into the glass elevator. For a hospital, it was an extremely prestigious one. Being situated in the upper district of Karakura town, it had to be really. This was where they sent you if you had the money to pay twice what it cost everywhere else. The founder of the hospital, Unohana Retsu, had originally made it so it was a free healthcare clinic, but since it was bought by the Central 46, a high end business company, as well as having shot through the roof in popularity it had become one of the most effective hospitals in Japan.

But still, that couldn't shake the nervous feeling he got whenever he visited it. He secretly counted down the minutes until it was over. He wasn't selfish, but doing the same thing every week was bound to influence your mind to go on little adventures.

He left the hospital just as visiting hours finished, making it six thirty in the evening. He wasn't supposed to meet Inoue and the others until seven, so Ichigo made the most of the November sunset in a nearby park.

--

Earlier that day, Orihime had showed up with Renji to Blossom Garage, hoping to get the job that he'd so fervently advertised to her nearly a week ago.

"Well, as long as you don't twirl your hair or do anything remotely girly, I'd say you're in. But what do I know? Now just go, will you?"

Inoue gulped. What did Renji mean exactly by 'girly'? Did that include smiling, or saying 'thank you very much'? Inoue had clad herself in a large black jumper and the baggiest pair of jeans she could find, in an attempt to disguise her natural feminine features for this interview, but still got the feeling that it wasn't enough. Oh, the hairclips! It must have been the hairclips, she thought, and proceeded to slide them off the sides of her head.

Taking a deep breath, Inoue knocked on the door of Shunsui's office as hard as she could, trying her best to imitate manliness.

"Come in!" she heard a shout from the other side. She smiled at Renji, who gave her two thumbs up, before entering.

What she saw before her was the strangest thing she'd seen in a while, and that included Ichigo's Chappy face. The only person in there was dressed in a pink silk shirt- spotless- and had a head of shiny, wavy black hair pulled back with a tie. If he'd been lacking the huge pectoral and bicep muscles she would have mistaken him for a woman.

"Hey!" she greeted, immediately reproaching herself for the manner in which she'd said it. "I mean- hey!" she corrected, in a much deeper voice, which only attracted a raised eyebrow from the man in front of her.

"You're Inoue, right? I thought you weren't starting work until tomorrow? In any case, it's fine by me. I'm gonna need you to run down to Rukongai to fetch a new order from the central post. Do you know how to ride a motorbike?"

She was speechless and confused. What exactly was the meaning of this nonchalance?

"What is the meaning of this?" she asserted, although feebly. "I thought I was here for an interview?" she queried, catching the attention of his big brown eyes, which prior to that had been roaming the paper-covered desk for something. He wasn't at all organised, contrary to what his appearance might have projected. Why on earth was the guy dressed like that anyway? It seemed out of character for someone who owned a garage. But then again, life is full of surprises, Inoue thought. And besides, he looked kind of cool.

"Ah, I see. Well, consider this a test: if you can make it to Rukongai and back for those orders before noon, you've got the job. And Renji'll buy you lunch." he smiled, "Don't worry Renji, it's on me!" he shouted, which made her jump. Boy, did he have a weird way of running things around here, she thought. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. How better to test efficiency than to send someone to run an errand? Grades, intellect, and articulacy didn't matter in this kind of job; it was spontaneity and energy she would have to get used to.

"Just one thing, I don't know how to ride a motorbike." Inoue declared.

"I was prepared for if you said that." So he _did_ know she was here for an interview after all. "Renji'll take you today; he's one of the best here. Anyway, here's the order slip. Just show that to the guy at the central post, and he'll give you a package. If you drop that package I'll beat you with that goldfish there." He pointed to a lone goldfish in a spherical bowl by his window. "Well, off you go."

--

It was a Saturday, and Saturdays always meant sparring in Rukongai with her brother, Byakuya, the most boring person known to man. The guy had a speech complex, one where he would utter two words every five hours, yet expect people around him to understand exactly what he meant. Today was no different. The two of them had been trying to attempt a sparring move called 'Tiger Claw', yet somehow the lack of fluidity between them left them both performing something like 'Chicken Claw' instead. The last and only thing Byakuya had said was 'You swing the left leg over.' As far as Rukia was concerned, there were about a hundred ways to 'swing the left leg over', and one of those ways was doubtlessly onto his head.

Rukia loved her brother and all but, one, why did he love sparring so much? And two, why was _she_ always the one he wanted to spar with? She dodged a backhand that was coming her way.

She didn't realise it herself, but the reason why Byakuya always asked her to spar was because it was one of the few things that Rukia executed with passion. She was a skilled martial artist, but often wasn't interested enough to pursue it on her own. It was another hidden aspect of Rukia's personality that many people didn't notice.

Fortunately, soon enough she managed to get into the swing of things and her boredom was quickly swept aside, just as it always was in this situation.

When their session finished, Byakuya left the dojo to meet up with his friends, while Rukia headed home. She was just about to cross the street when the sound of a motorbike- a really loud one- resonated in her ears. Looking around for the source of the sound, she was surprised when it was closer than she thought. It had stopped right in front of her, and she immediately recognised the people on them.

Orihime was clutching some sort of parcel with both arms, perched upon the back seat of the motorbike somewhat awkwardly, hair windswept. It was after all the hair that gave her identity away, otherwise the big, black, round thing atop her head would have made it really difficult for Rukia, especially as Inoue was the last person she could have imagined on a motorbike, for goodness' sakes.

"Rukia." the other person acknowledged. He was wearing a white vest and baggy jeans, the same thing from the last time she'd seen him in _Itsu Soba_. What was it with boys and not changing their clothes? Everyone knew that Renji was rich enough, she thought.

"Hey." Rukia murmured nearly inaudibly that Renji barely heard her- something that he never thought he'd experience from 'loudmouth Rukia' as she was sometimes referred to as. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hmmfsshfshhguu?" a disgruntled Inoue muffled, irritated that she was helpless. It was hard enough breathing underneath the restrictive helmet on her head, but to make matters worse, it was about forty degrees that day, despite it being November, and Shunsui hadn't told her the thing she had to collect would be so heavy. So there she was, sitting behind Renji on a beast of a bike, feeling stuffy and arms aching like mad. "Canshmbdyhelpme?" she squealed.

"You'd better not, we've got to get going. We're on a strict schedule. Sorry." Renji interrupted just as Rukia was about to reach for the Inoue's helmet. He proceeded to rev the engine so it made a roar as loud as a lion's, and winked at Rukia, causing a slight blush to creep up on her cheeks. Inoue nodded towards her, signalling a makeshift goodbye due to the restricted use of her arms, to which Rukia waved, pushing away the previous blush.

"There's a festival in Rukongai Central later. So far it's me, Inoue and Ichigo. You can come if you want."

Rukia blinked. She could have sworn Renji just said something along the lines of inviting her out.

"It's being held by my work, and kinda exclusive, so, er, look pretty, no offence." Renji mentally kicked himself for saying that right after he did it, but Rukia was far too surprised to have even registered his comment. "It's at seven, we'll meet at Edison Park. I'll-- _we'll_ wait for you."

And with that, he sped off, Inoue's hair billowing behind her in the Autumn breeze.

--

"Ichigo!" Inoue squealed, seeing her friend on the park bench. He was engrossed in something- staring at the sky for an unknown reason that caught her off guard. "Hey Ichigo."

"Oh hey, Inoue." his eyes met with wavy hair, chestnut in the evening sun. Inoue looked really pretty. She was wearing a pale green kimono with dragons embossed on the collar. The sash across her waist was a dark green silk, and it perfectly accentuated her figure. Ichigo couldn't help admiring this, but broke out of his trance before it was long enough to deem him a pervert, which he wasn't- honest. "You look really pretty."

Inoue's eyes widened and she grinned. "Thank you." She felt a flush of excitement rush through her and returned the compliment. "You look really handsome."

Ichigo extended an arm to her, which she took, and was pulled onto the bench beside him. He was also wearing a kimono, a male version. His was dark plum and entirely made from silk. It had been his father's from when he was a teenage boy. 'Go wow the ladies', Isshin had advised his son.

Inoue noticed that Ichigo had turned his attention to the sunset again, facing away from her, so that all she could see were the back of his ear and a glimpse of his eyelashes, which she thought were extremely endearing. Ichigo had such well-defined features, she thought, and was so good-looking. She found herself revelling in the sight of the back of his head a little more intently than was normal.

Suddenly, he turned to face her, inches from her face. Damn it, why had she leaned it so close? Nevertheless, he smiled. Inoue had admired Ichigo's smile before, but now that he smiled at her from proximity of -56 on an arbitrary scale, she internally fainted five times over.

"How was the interview?" he said, an amused expression on his face as Inoue edged back, but not before taking the opportunity to touch Orihime's nose with his own, closing the gap between them at a considerably nerve-wracking rate. "That's how Eskimos say hello by the way." he quickly informed.

"Ah, I see, Kurosaki the Eskimo. Nice!" she declared from the part of her head that had recovered from Ichigo's touch- almost a whole two percent of it. "My interview went-- _well_, thanks. I got the job! I'm so pleased. Now that I'm employed, I can call myself a real man." joked Inoue.

"Damn, you're right. You can be the breadwinner and I'll cook rice for you three times daily." Ichigo added to the farce. They burst out laughing at each other before Inoue sweetly proceeded with "Glutinous, please, I'm very fussy, being the man and all. HO HO HO", albeit a little strangely.

Ichigo paused."Okay, Santa, since when did all men start going 'ho ho ho'?"

"Be quiet, you! I'm special, okay?" she said hurriedly as she puffed up her cheeks and squinted. "For breakfast, I'd like eel with scrambled egg, and for lunch- taro pie. You can call the shots at dinner time, my dear!"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes wickedly, and pursed his lips. "You're going to have to work for it, Inoue. Nothing in this life is free, not eel, not taro pie, not even a devoted housewife."

"Oh _really_? Then how should I start?"

The vermillion-haired young man leaned his on his female counterpart, brushing her ear with his lips, instantly causing the overheating of her face.

"_Well_," he started, "You don't call me Chappy for one."

Ichigo saw the outline of Inoue's cheeks plump up from the angle he was situated, meaning that she'd just broken out into a full smile. "And secondly..." Gently cupping Inoue's cheek, he turned her face around to meet his, their eyes meeting with an eccentric impact. Inoue lowered hers on his lips without even realising it, and in a split second they were nanometres away from one another's faces.

Ichigo lowered his eyelids, already feeling the heat of Inoue's quickened breath on his lips.

"A-hem!"

They both jumped, startled as deer in front of oncoming headlights, and breaking apart instantly. Ichigo tried to look cool by concentrating his gaze the best he could towards some nearby tree branches, while Inoue fumbled with something on her sleeve that wasn't even there.

"So, er, so you guys found your way here okay?" Inoue asked, avoiding eye contact with the two in front of them and the one next to her.

"Yep, sure looks like it doesn't it?" Renji said with an expression of _extreme_ amusement on his face. Seriously, the guy couldn't have looked smugger if he had the entire female team of Gladiators on his arms.

"And, of course, that's not including the fact that we've lived here pretty much all our lives and go to this park- oh I don't know- every other day." Rukia sarcastically injected, but also with an equal face of smugness.

What was it with these people and their cockiness? Damn it! Ichigo broke his stare from the twig above, which had actually become rather interesting because of a nearby nest of baby sparrows, and stood up.

"So! Where is this thing? You guys want to get going? It's already 7:25 and you said it starts at half past." He hurriedly exclaimed.

"Oh, it's in the marquees by the lake. Let's go." And with that, Renji pivoted on his heel and led the way, only later seeing a hint of a smile from the person who'd just caught up to walking beside him.

"You owe me ten bucks." said Rukia triumphantly.

That smile quickly turned into a frown and furrowing of eyebrows when he interjected, "The deal was for them to be a couple". Even though Ichigo and Inoue had looked pretty friendly with one another, he had to make it harder for his bob-haired rival to get one over on him. He hadn't expected _her_ to win their little wager- they'd only made it Monday night! There was no way Inoue and Ichigo were _already_ together! What was the world coming to? Whatever happened to good old-fashioned courtship between knights and maidens? These days kids just went jumping into bed with the next thing that breathed before you could say 'Shoot me, I'm a Shinigami".

"WHAT?" growled Rukia at this, obviously assuming she'd already sealed the deal, and breaking Renji out of his mental outrage at the other two's speedy attachment. "They looked pretty friendly with one another back there, Abarai, don't you go denying that now."

Damn that Ichigo was a fast mover! Or maybe it was Inoue's seductive ways, Renji thought. _Wait a minute, did I just put Inoue and seductive in the same sentence...?_ Hmm, well, actually, I can see how--

"Renji! Dammit I'm talking to you, graffiti-face!"

"The terms were that we see them lock lips- otherwise it's not official." He said briskly, before distracting himself with a rogue firefly and walking away promptly, leaving Rukia swaggering behind in annoyance, debating with herself whether Renji had just made up those rules on the spot or not. They _had_ been terrifically drunk when they'd made it, after all.

Oh, this surely was _not_ over yet.

* * *

**End of Chapter 3**

A/N: See you next time folks! Mwah!


	4. Chappy Puffs, Trade?

Hi! I'm back if only for a little while with a New Year's present for you guys. Sorry I haven't updated in so long, I've been busy with university work and manual labour, so forgive me. If you do I'll give you a frog and ask my friend Harpo Marx to play the harp for you! Hope you enjoy this chapter folks, I really enjoyed writing it. -smiles-

Oh and remember to leave a review at the end!

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I swear I did not steal Bleach from the supermarket.

--

**Coffee, Cars, and Kurosaki**

Chapter 4

* * *

"I'm never going to live this down."

Rukia flung her paintbrush at the wall and collapsed her face in her hands.

"I'm a fool with a capital 'F'" she mumbled into her jumper.

The place where the brush had hit was now splattered with an eerie green blob of paint that looked suspiciously like the school mascot, Kon. Seeing her friend like this was really ungratifying for Inoue. Besides the looks they received from the rest of the class, it was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate on this still life- of a moose head _of all things_- when one Kurosaki Ichigo was allocated opposite her trying to supress a very red face behind his work. Ocassionally their eyes would meet upon glancing at the object placed on a stool in the middle of their circle of desks, at which they'd both quickly pretend to notice something somewhere else.

The air could have been cut with a knife, it was so dense. Was it just her or did everyone seem extra silent today? Well, apart from Rukia of course and her paintbrush-throwing antics. But even so, she was whispering her agony, so it meant, of course, that everyone had heard about the incident the weekend before, and was deliberately lowering their volume in a bid to catch any juicy gossip the girls should happen to interchange. Kids.

Damn you, Rukongai Festival! Honestly, how was there any way in the world she could have prevented what had happened? It wasn't every day that Renji's hair caught fire, or that he'd accidentally fall atop Rukia. Or rather, Rukia's lips.

No, that part had been quite hilarious. What she was worried about concerned no other than her, and the young man opposite her. In a tent. On loudspeaker.

The end-of-lesson bell had never been more well-received in any of their lives. Rukia made a dash for the door in a bid to prevent those annoying girls like Cirruci and Yachiru from approaching and interrogating her. Not that they'd think they ever could, this is Rukia we're talking about. But nevertheless in a shot she was gone. Luckily Inoue knew where to find her.

Stepping into the cove, Inoue sighed as she sighted her best friend.

"Hey Ruki... How's it going?"

The black-haired girl was sitting there stuffing Chappy Puffs into her mouth frantically, as if the world was going to end and there would be Chappy Puffs no more. "Not that good!" she bellowed uncharacteristically. She gulped down a mouthful of chewed starch. "Everybody knows... they keep looking at me! Oh god I am _so_ embarrassed. I should never have gone to that stupid park and that _stupid_ festival."

"Um..." Inoue started, not sure what to make of the situation. For one, Rukia was _overreacting_. It had all been a big accident. So what if her image as a smart, quirky ball-buster had been tarnished? It was never a bad time to change into the person you wanted to be.

The reason why she was so distressed was not because of the accidental kiss, but what happened immediately after it. Rukia had in a way displayed... well, _enjoyment_ of it. She may have also wrapped her hands around Renji's back and um... deepened the kiss. In front of everyone. All the while on her back. On the ground. In a park. In front of everyone. Oh, that had already been mentioned. But basically everybody saw it. The kiss. And the enjoyment.

Where _was_ Renji anyway? Actually, nobody felt that the answer to that question was really needed. It would be better if he didn't show up for a while, thought Rukia.

"Rukia-chan, I think he likes you too."

As if there wasn't insult to injury enough! Inoue gulped at the sight of her friend's face.

"Inoue, please, _please_, don't mention him around me for at least another year. Please. In fact, who is he? I don't know what you're talking about." Rukia scoffed, bits of Chappy Puffs around her mouth and cheeks. There was a sight for sore eyes. Offering Rukia a drink, Inoue couldn't help but notice that her friend might have had a serious crush on a certain redheaded, tattooed young man. She did not see this coming. She thought they hated one another?

"What?"

Oops, had she been thinking out loud? But anyway, she thought that they hated one another. All those times she'd caught them bickering, fighting, poking, pinching, glaring, tackling, arguing, attacking, snarling-- was there something else in the works that she'd missed completely? Come to think of it, despite the fact- perhaps not so true anymore- that they hated it each other, they spent an awful lot of time in one another's company, even if the majority of it was to insult and bite the opposition. Could this tawdry relationship have been a result of some deep, unresolved magnetism between her raven-haired friend and the intimidating redhead? It was all becoming clear to her now. Ah, the physics of quantum.

Inoue glanced over to Rukia, as she heard a cough. However it didn't come from her. She glanced instead towards the entrance of the little alcove off the college gardens, which was restricted by a layer of willow leaves, and saw an unmistakable silhouette. It was Renji.

"Hey." he greeted, "Can I come in?"

Rukia, who still had bits of Chappy Puffs on her face, widened her eyes in panic, her chest starting to heave. She remained silent and mouthed to Inoue 'Pretend we're not here'.

"Er... I can see you doing that you know." came the voice from outside.

Rukia punched the air.

"Yeah, I saw that too."

Dammit! She had no choice but to watch Renji poke his head through the dangling willow leaves.

"It's okay, Inoue, I'm just here to return this to Rukia, thought she might need it for class, or something." he said as he saw Inoue get ready to make leave. He handed Rukia a black satin bow. She had been wearing it Saturday, and had obviously forgotten all about it in the midst of the commotion. Taking the accessory from Renji she muttered a rushed 'thanks', quickly glancing up at him for a split second before turning away again, blushing tomato red.

"Oh and um, if you want to..." Renji wanted to invite Rukia out for a coffee after school, but suddenly his throat choked up. "You might want to make a move, class is starting."

The girls nodded and watched as he disappeared behind the willow. Inoue followed shortly after, leaving Rukia to make her way out last.

What she didn't realise however, was that Renji was about to stick his head back in to see if she was following suit.

You can probably guess what came next-- I'm going to hurry it up and tell you in short, that if Karakura High was ever close to having a student spontaneously combust, then that was it, on behalf of Kuchiki Rukia. In that short moment, for the second time in a week, Renji and Rukia had somehow managed to touch mouth regions once again, but this time with an added zing of Chappy puff.

Poor, innocent Inoue didn't have a clue what was going on. She was in a bit of a daze herself, having just spotted one Mr. Kurosaki Ichigo walk along the adjacent path to their next class. And yes, they did make eye contact if you were wondering. The compulsion between them was pretty strong, because Inoue made way towards him through no will of her own, and seemingly he had made a swift turn from the path he was taking towards where she had stood.

"Hey." he said.

"Hello, uh, hi." Inoue responded, biting her lip, and taking in the sight of Ichigo. He had the typical school uniform on, but his blazer sleeves were rolled up and his necktie loosened as well as the top button of his shirt. The truth was, Ichigo looked Sexy. And Inoue was the first hand witness of this.

They both looked nervously at each other and chuckled hesitantly.

"I'm sorry-

"This morning-

"about what happened--

"I had---

"on Saturday--"

"toast for breakfast!"

Ichigo stared at Inoue, not sure at what she just said. Maybe it was for the best.

"You first." Inoue quickly exclaimed, realising that her sentence was slightly more out of context than Ichigo's.

"I was just saying that I'm really sorry for what happened to you-- to us, on Saturday. I, um, know it's really embarrassing but I really hope you don't stop talking to me for it." Ichigo fiddled with his fingers as he said this, and provided a staring point for them both because neither of them were making eye contact.

"No, you silly... why would I stop talking to you?" Inoue sighed, and instinctively reached for his hands, a gesture she half regretted immediately and half found truly exciting, for she'd never made the first move with a guy before. She'd never been brave enough, but this felt quite natural and fluid.

Now it was eye-contact time, and full on at that. Ichigo looked at her hands on his hands and then back at her, and beamed. He laid his fingertips on hers and they teased each other for a moment before breaking the ice with laughter.

"I wouldn't stop talking to you because of some silly incident like that. Who cares if everybody heard you and I talking explicitly about Chappy the rabbit? And that we're raging potty-mouths after a few too many candy canes and soft drinks? I certainly don't."

Ichigo looked downwards and blushed- something Inoue found completely enticing. He had beautiful eyes, and looked best when he half-smiled in contemplation of something, as he was currently doing.

"Thanks." he stated. He gave her hands a little squeeze, leaned in, and kissed her on the cheek, not that it was at all precedented. The two broke away, realising the excitement of what they had just done.

Inoue laughed, her face redder than her hair, as did Ichigo.

"So, uh, that was a surprise." she murmured, her heartbeat at high speed. Ichigo let go of her hands and cleared his throat. He apologised, clenching his fist.

"No! No, I mean, it was a nice surprise, and... I wouldn't mind if you, you know, did it again."

It was now Ichigo's turn to laugh, overjoyed. He pretty much got the message before Inoue realised to herself how bold she'd been. She was caught mid-thought by a kiss to the same spot, Ichigo's warm cheek pressing against her own. She closed her eyes and smiled wearily, revelling in the moment, feeling his soft lips against her skin. They lingered; it had become intense pretty quick. She turned her face towards him, their lips not an inch apart, which soon become no space apart as they closed in on one another, her arms around his shoulders, his hands around her waist.

The kiss was warm and soft, and made her stomach feel funny, but not in the same way that marmalade and batternberg toast did. Ichigo was so caught up in it that he almost forgot to breathe. All he knew was that Inoue smelt of strawberries, and tasted like satin mixed with ice cream, not that it was coherent, but he didn't care.

Gasping for air, their lips parted slightly, both still holding the other. Inoue smiled breathily and Ichigo leaned in for more, but was interrupted by a very loud, angry growl.

They looked over. It was Caretaker Kenpachi, and he looked livid.

"You kids have any idea what time it is?" he more snarled than asked. "What do you think this is, seventh heaven? What would your parents say if they knew what you were up to at school, where you're supposed to be learning about this kind of stuff, not doing it!"

Inoue inwardly groaned. The caretaker was infamous for his long-winded, informative speeches, or so she'd heard. She looked at Ichigo, who bowed before the caretaker and apologised for them both, with face still flushed. He then took her by the hand and led her back along the path towards the school without uttering a word. Inoue didn't look back because frankly she was scared half to death of the caretaker's eyepatch, which looked like it was concealing something dark and sinister that could jump at and maul you ten times over. Accompanied by a radical hairstyle he seriously looked like he'd been placed on the job as community service. Rumours went round that he was actually serving time for murder. She shuddered, hoping to never have to encounter Caretaker Kenpachi and his crazy hair ever again.

Momentarily having been distracted from the subject at hand, Inoue now drew back to the fact that she may now just possibly have a boyfriend. A sort of electric chill ran down her spine. She looked at the back of his head, his ears had turned a light cherry colour. However, he kept his hand firmly around hers, subconsciously giving it a little squeeze every now and again.

It wasn't until the end of the day that they got to speak to each other properly once again. Classes had prevented Ichigo and Inoue from talking fully, despite being in some of the same ones. The truth of the matter was they were too embarrassed to really engage with one another in class because the moment they did, their faces went bright red.

For Rukia and Renji however, it was a different matter.

Those two were overcompensating for recent occurrences. As a result of their tardiness, they were made to dust the blackboard erasers as punishment.

"You dumb tosser, Matsumoto-sensei said the blackboard erasers, why the _hell_ have you brought two _gluesticks_ and a box of glitter dust outside? WHY?"

* * *

**End of Chapter 4.**


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